


Prologue

by TheAnimangaGirl



Series: The Amell Chronicles [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Childhood, Foreshadowing, Gen, Kirkwall (Dragon Age), Prologue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 21:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8029198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAnimangaGirl/pseuds/TheAnimangaGirl
Summary: How did Amell, a mage born from a noble family in Kirkwall, ended up in the Ferelden Circle, Kinloch Hold?





	Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Some implications towards the end.

For the longest times Ania Amell, Hero of Ferelden, Arlessa of Amaranthine and Mistress of the King considered herself an orphan. Why wouldn’t she? Most of the children in the tower were, and as a mages she was by all intends and purposes Chantry property. Maybe at some point during her childhood she remembered her family but a child can only keep memories for so long. Her time as Kinloch Hold had been spent with her nose deep inside the books.

She had been Irving’s apprentice for a reason.

However, just because she was compliant that didn’t meant she didn’t dreamt of the outside world. The sea called her and the shores of Lake Calenhad were a poor replacement for the vague salty smell she remembered from her time before the circle. When she turned seventeen, Jowan’s strange behavior and her Harrowing started a domino effect that culminated with her slaying the Archdemon of the Fifth Blight at the top of Fort Drakon. Her silver tongue had guaranteed Ferelden and herself steadfast allies. Not to mention a begrudging place in the court, and in the bed of the Grey Warden Fereleden now called king.

Alistair had been the joy of her life, she loved the man, and he was probably the only person she would be willing to discard her life, her pride, and dignity for. The Maker decided to smile slightly at her as the feeling was mutual. The Sword and Shield of Ferelden, that’s how the bars sang about them. After being promoted to Warden Commander of Ferelden and with the task of rebuilding a Blight ravaged country, administrating Vigil’s Keep, Amaranthine, and to some extent Soldier’s Peak, she hardly had the time to start digging into her own forgotten family tree. If the thought about her part had haunted her, now it was deeply buried among her responsibilities.

It was until six years after the end of the Blight that the name ‘Amell’ began to sound loudly in Thedas once more. Victoria Marian Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall had, according to stories, single-handedly defeated the Arishock that had been stranded In Kirkwall for years. The family tree of the champion shortly began circulating. That she was the eldest granddaughter of Lord Aristide Amell, the man who would had been Viscount, and a man that on his time was respected in all of the Free Marches.

The man who had lost everything to magic.

Not because he had been a mage, but the scandal of having his elder daughter run off with an apostate to Ferelden. Followed by yet another scandal of his brother going bankrupt in an attempt to free his son from loans given by a criminal organization. Aristide’s hope for the family name laid in his son and niece. His son Gamlen, while tried his best could compare with his sister Leandra’s charm could not compensate for his gambling problem, a problem that only dampened the family name further. When his commoner wife left him the news were barely whispered, what use was to kick a falcon that was already dying on the floor?

The killing blow had come from the only salvation the family still had. Revka Amell. If someone was to bring the family’s name back it would be her. She married a respectable man, Herman Debden, a wealthy merchant from Starkheaven. For seven years since the marriage Revka kept the family name afloat. She had enough gold to throw balls in high society and to begin planning successful matches for her growing family. For seven years, it appeared that the Amell fortune was changing for the better.

Then magic stuck again. This time manifesting in the eldest daughter of Revka, ‘Ania’ Solona Amell. It’s almost funny how a very simple event can catalyze thousands of other events. It al started in Hightown on a bright sunny day, the heavily pregnant Revka was leaving the Chantry service in company of her three children. She was concentrated in her babe, a one year old baby girl called Johanna, siblings Ania and Patrick separated from her mother to continue playing and complain about their Chantry clothes. Revka was never able to see the man who took her son, but little Ania did and in her fancy dress gave chase to man taking her little brother. She was scared, she was angry and without thinking it set the offending man on fire, in broad light of the pious residents of Hightown. Whispers began as soon as the city guard took the injured man.

The mother of the children appeared shortly, tears filling her eyes at the sight of  her six years old girl who was mesmerized by the fire on her hand.

“Mother, look what I can do!” smiled the girl happily, showing a big smile that showed all her missing teeth.

They disappeared quickly, but word spread like a pox. Not four hours had passed when Knight Commander Guylian himself showed at Revka Amell’s home knocking the heavy wooden door with his heavy gauntlet.

“I have come to take the mage” he said emotionlessly, his gaze hard.

“Please!” cried the mother clasping her confused daughter hand tightly. “She is only a child!”

“More reason to fear, a child cannot control their emotions, they will turn into abominations at one mere tantrum, that’s why she belongs with a circle with her _kind_ ”

“She belongs with her family!” she argued

“Let me make something very clear Serah Amell, if you refuse to give us the mage you’ll be harboring an apostate, a crime punishably by hanging in the Gallows, and we will still take the mage. So it is up to you if you want to make thing easy or difficult.” The man showed no empathy in his hard eyes.

“Wait no!” she said rubbing her belly, tears falling freely from her eyes. “Ania, let’s go pack your things”

“Nonsense, we are taking her now” said the Templar gesturing to the two other Templar accompanying him “Stannard, Alrik, take the girl”

The female Templar grabbed the girl’s shoulder roughly, her blue eyes hard, very different from the girl’s mother. Whose eyes were blue and warm like the sky, this eyes were hard and cold, in that instant the girl decided she despised the ice. “Let’s go”

“Mommy, I don’t want to go!”

“Ania Solona Amell” she said grabbing the girl by the shoulders, removing the Templar’s hand. “You are going to need to be very, very brave, yes? You are an Amell, you should behave like one”

“Proud and kind, swift with enemies and gentle with the allies?” asked the girl repeating the family motto, thru her flowing tears and constant hiccups.

“Yes, just like that” she said connecting their foreheads, “Mommy loves you, very , very much, you are going to be a wonderful mage, people are going to say a lot of things, but always remember mommy loves you very, very much and mommy is very proud of you, little falcon.”

The connection was rudely interrupted by the Templars moving the girl. Revka followed after them.

“Don’t forget Ania, you are an Amell, be proud, and promise me you will take care of yourself!”

Many people had stopped to see the development, the proud Revka Amell reduced to tears and begging in the street following after Templars who refuse to acknowledge her presence.

“I promise mother, I will make you proud!”

When the girl’s father returned he found his wife weeping fiercely on the floor. In hysteric tears she explained what had happened. Herman paled.

“Our girl cannot stay in that circle, I’ve heard terrible stories, and if she is to be a mage we need her to be safe, I have contacts in Ferelden…”

“Ferelden?” asked Revka, remembering to be the place her cousin Leandra had run to “They have a circle even after Orlais…”

“Yes, and for that very reason they are looking for mages even under the rocks, it won’t be cheap, but we may be able to get Ania to the Ferelden Circle, it’s just by Lake Calenhad, but it  is one of the more open Circles, if she has a chance it’s in Ferelden” he said resisting his own tears. He would never see his daughter again, and the realization stung him deeper than he could have ever imagined. What was the last thing he had told his daughter? He could not remember.

Revka seemed hopeful for the first time in days. “Do it Herman, take my baby out of that horrid circle”

And so, with some well-placed bribes and charms, Ania Solona Amell was shipped across the Waking Sea, arriving to Kinloch Hold, with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing and a bandage in her wrist.

When she set foot inside the tower she was greeted by two bearded men. She jerked and twisted to stay away from the man in armor.

“Not need to be afraid child” said the man in green robes. His eyes were kind but weary.

“He is going to hurt me!” she said pointing at the other bearded man “Smack me for crying!” she said trembling.

Both man widened their eyes.

“She comes from Kirkwall, sir” said the local Templar who had received the child in Highever “Very strict from what I heard”

Understanding washed over the two men.

“No need to worry child, no one will hit you here” said Irving with a gentle smile, kneeling in front of the girl. Her clothes were dirty and mudded, but made no mistake, those clothes belonged to a noble.

“Without cause” murmured Gregoir, interrupting the First Enchanter’s train of thought.

“Gregoir!” scolded Irving, now directing his sight to the trembling child “Knight Commander Gregoir can appear intimidating child, but he has a good heart very, very deep under that armor, and has a preference for Almond cake” he mentioned winking.

“Irving!” said the Templar with red in his cheeks, either of anger or embarrassment. And for the first time in two weeks the little Amell girl smiled. Irving’s face relaxed in relief, even Gregoir eyes softened just a little.

“As my friend here just say, I am First Enchanter Irving, I assume they explained how circle work back in Kirkwall” said Irving, taking the girl’s hand, “Each circle works differently, but you’ll learn things as days come by, do you have any particular question?”

Amell nodded.

“Yes, messere” she said looking at Irving very attentively “Is there any spell to change the color my eyes to blue?”

* * *

 

_Vigil’s Keep 9:37 Dragon_

 

Amell woke up, with a thin layer of sweat covering her entire body. She hadn’t dreamt of her childhood for a long time, why now of all the times did those blue eyes haunted her?

“Amell, are you alright” asked a sleepy voice next to her.

“I am fine Alistair, just a nightmare….I think” she said passing a hand over her head, trying to comb the mess that was her hair.

“Darkspawn?” he asked turning around to face her, concern showing visibly in his handsome features.

“No, just my childhood” she said falling back to bed again, not bothering to cover her naked body despite the chill of the approaching dawn. Her arm covering her eyes as an attempt to forget the nightmare. Why had he remembered her first encounter with Irving and Gregoir, now of all the times?

“I have those too, not exactly the most pleasant ways I like to spend my nights…” he said one had caressing her naked torso.

“Really?” she asked rising he arm to glance at the man so he could see her raise an eyebrow “Again?”

“I am a weak, weak, man with the most powerful woman in Thedas naked in my bed” he said taking her hand and kissing it.

“His majesty is incorrigible” she said turning on her side to face him.

“That I am, my dear” he said with an impish smile as his fingers trace the scars she had in her ribs.

“I’ll be checking with Avernus next week” she replied ignoring her lover’s actions “any message from your part?”

“Tell him he is creepy and unsettling” he said making a disdained face.

“Will do, how are things going for the Anniversary Ball?”

“Amell that’s in three months, no need to be worried so much” he said as his hand traveled to her hip.

“Are the invitations out?” she asked without minding his climbing hand

“Yes dear”

“Oh, good”

“See, everything is going to be alright” he said as his hand now took a journey upward.

“What time is it?” she asked with a yawn.

“Late…or early, I guess, the sun is not even rising” he said peeking at the window

“You are leaving in the morning, at this pace you’ll fall asleep on your horse back to Denerim” she scolded lightly.

“I shall take the risk” he said making that smile he knew she couldn’t resist.

“Alright” she pretended defeat with a fake voice “As Warden Commander, I will allow your request Warden Alistair”

“Much obliged, Commander Amell” he said as he kissed her deeply. Neither of them knowing how that night would trigger a very different chain of events that would culminate in a very bitter situation.


End file.
